Motor hitting the road

[Rumdirty]

I was led to believe that I must tow with the motor in the down position. That puts the motor about 4 -6 inches above the road surface. I hit a pothole and bent the prop. Have to replace it anyway, but it was a lesson learned. Is there no way I can safely tilt the motor some and get more clearance?

Good ole Mac trailer, deluxe i assume because it has the steps.

Side question. I'm used to disconnecting the wiring when launching or retrieving the boat. This locks up the brakes when backing up. What do you do?

[Tomfoolery]

I was led to believe that I must tow with the motor in the down position. That puts the motor about 4 -6 inches above the road surface. I hit a pothole and bent the prop. Have to replace it anyway, but it was a lesson learned. Is there no way I can safely tilt the motor some and get more clearance?

I tilt mine up as far as it goes, flip the tilt lock so it can't come back down, slip a light bar onto the lower unit to augment the trailer lights. That puts the brake lights right in the eyes of someone following, plus provides side markers at the farthest aft part of the whole rig, which is the prop and the end of the mast. It's held tight with a bungie.

Tilting it up all the way makes the OB almost balanced on its hinge, which means there's minimal bending moment on the transom. All the way down puts the OB's center of mass as far back from the transom as it can be, which puts some bending moment into the transom.

The OB doesn't care, and the transom thinks it's just ducky.

Side question. I'm used to disconnecting the wiring when launching or retrieving the boat. This locks up the brakes when backing up. What do you do?

I leave the lights connected so I have an active brake lockout solenoid valve. But mine are all LED, and they don't care if they get dunked while on. But you could always put a lockout pin or key into the coupler, style depending on what surge coupler you have.

[yukonbob]

I leave the lights connected so I have an active brake lockout solenoid valve. But mine are all LED, and they don't care if they get dunked while on. But you could always put a lockout pin or key into the coupler, style depending on what surge coupler you have.

Or turn them off at the very least.

[ris]

Where on the trailer does it hook up?

[Tomfoolery]

Where on the trailer does it hook up?

When I rewired the trailer (when I first got it), I put a plastic junction box on the ladder post. I stubbed out a 4-flat socket, wired to the corresponding terminals for the tail, marker, ID, and clearance lights, plus left and right turn/brake lights. I run a 4-wire bonded cable to the front, and just plug in the light bar. I don't bother with it for around town at 30 mph, but I use it on the highway and for any long-distance travel.



I'm going to add a white backup light to it, as it's hard to see behind the boat when backing in low light. My new tow vehicle has an RV style 7-blade connecter, so backup lights are on their own lead. I'll reconfigure the light bar wiring to bring it to the top of one of the goal posts with a 5-flat socket (I'll zip tie another conductor to the bonded four), and of course, put the brake lockout solenoid valve on that.* Then I can have just a short 5-conductor lead from the light bar to the socket. Quicker setup and take down when at the ramp.



You can just see the plastic junction box in this shot, about even with the crank handle, on the back side of the ladder and vee-bumper support.



That's also where the pigtail is (hadn't installed it when this pic was taken) for the light bar.

*My solenoid valve is connected to the trailer running lights right now, with an inline plug/socket, so to lock the brakes out, I plug it in and turn on the parking lights. Works quite well, as long as I don't forget to unplug it when driving on the road, in case the lights come on in the rain or dark. But that'll be fixed soon, as I'm (finally) bringing the boat home this weekend from its winter storage location.

[fishheadbarandgrill]

Regarding your motor position question. I use a rubber block that fits around the tilt piston and I tow with the motor tilted up. This ensures that the motor does not lower during towing without relying on the hydraulics to hold the motor in position. It works great. Here's the web site. http://www.m-ywedge.com You can order them for several trim and trim/tilt configurations. My Merc BF 50 has a single piston.

Bob

[Russ]

I was led to believe that I must tow with the motor in the down position. That puts the motor about 4 -6 inches above the road surface.

You were poorly led. As you found out, the motor will hit. Tilt it up...all the way for the reasons Tom said.

You should disconnect the trailer lights because water and electricity don't mix well. Hot taillight bulbs hitting cold water tend to not mix well either.
LED bulbs don't have this issue, but I would still disconnect.

Unless you are launching up hill, the brakes shouldn't kick in. When on the ramp, get out and unplug them, get back in and launch.
If the brakes are engaging, you can use the brake lockout key. It prevents the surge plunger from depressing. I've never been able to figure out how to keep it in place without duct tape.



Call Ocean Propeller in Toms River or http://tuckertonpropeller.com/
Unless you broke a blade off, they can make it look brand new. Sometimes even if the blade comes off. It's an art. Amazing for a fraction of the cost of new prop.



--Russ

[Tomfoolery]

This is the box I used. Since my 4-flat plug pigtail to the tow vehicle terminates in this box, all I have to do to install the new 7-blade round plug that I already have is just terminate the leads with ring terminations and land them on the lugs. Wiring goes in through the opening in the bottom of the box, keeping it pretty waterproof. It stays out of the water when launching, by a lot.

http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and ... 38656.html

[seahouse]

Russ

I've never been able to figure out how to keep it in place without duct tape.

I've used two things, both work equally well. A heavy-duty releasable cable tie that wraps all the way around the tongue, just slide it over top of the lockout key to hold it in place, and slide it back the half-inch or so to remove the key. I have also used a piece of black nylon webbing (about 1/2"wide) and buckle, wrapped around the tongue and used the same way, sliding over the lockout key to hold it in place. (I think this started life out as a camera neck strap).

Whatever you use, make it just snug enough so that you can easily slide it back and forth, but not so loose that it won't stay in place while you launch. I also keep the lockout key from getting lost by threading a short lanyard through the hole in the tab that wraps around the tie or nylon strap. It's now always right where I need it, when I need it. I tuck it under the strap on top of the tongue when not in use so that it is not flopping around.

I would also think that a cut 1" section of something like a motorcycle-sized inner tube (think giant elastic band) slid over the end of the tongue would perform the same function, and might look a little more like it belonged there, if you're concerned with aesthetics. (But might not dry out so fast underneath it).

[Rumdirty]

Wow! What a wealth of information and fantastic ideas.

Purchased a 5 - 7 pin adapter. Hopefully this will fix the backing up into my yard issue. For launching, going slow and gravity should work with the electrical disconnected. Going all LED will be on the list of upgrades but thankfully I'm only looking to trailer twice this year. Along with the LED upgrade, I'll be trying to follow Tomfoolery's setup.

I'll be towing with motor up and a red flag for my two trips to the dock. Damn misinformation could have cost me alot more money. Prop was already shot from PO. Knew it was going to be replaced anyway. Keeping the prop link handy for future groundings though!

The M wedge looks neat, prolly pick one up before next year, I don't have a brake lockout bracket, made do with duct tape and some bolts.

Thanks again all!

[Tomfoolery]

The M wedge looks neat, prolly pick one up before next year . . .

From your profile, you have a Honda BF50, which has a flip-down engine tilt lock. Useful for safety, and for towing.



Pic was taken when I first looked at my boat, prior to purchase - forgot I even had it. You can also see it in the pic I posted before, with the light bar on the lower unit. But apparently, not all OB's have something like that, which I didn't know. Learned something new today, which makes it a good day already.

[NiceAft]

I don't believe this was explained, but the motor should be kept in the up position only while towing. When at rest on the trailer for storage, the motor should always be kept in the down position

Ray

[Russ]

I don't believe this was explained, but the motor should be kept in the up position only while towing. When at rest on the trailer for storage, the motor should always be kept in the down position

Ray

Why is this Ray? I store mine down on the hard to allow draining. Especially important in winter to keep water from freezing. When in the slip, I tilt it UP and dry to keep junk from growing on the prop etc.

--Russ

[yukonbob]

I don't believe this was explained, but the motor should be kept in the up position only while towing. When at rest on the trailer for storage, the motor should always be kept in the down position

Ray

Why is this Ray? I store mine down on the hard to allow draining. Especially important in winter to keep water from freezing. When in the slip, I tilt it UP and dry to keep junk from growing on the prop etc.

--Russ

[Rumdirty]

Gonna go look for that tilt lock when I get home. Hope I have one, if not I'll figure something out.

Maybe this whole motor up, motor down thing is where I got confused earlier. I'm real clear on Motor UP when trailering. Motor is down right now as she sits on my trailer while doing some work and cleaning.

However.... I was planning on keeping the motor UP when I had her in the water for the summer. Thought it would help keep nasties from growing. So am I wrong on that?